How To Package Your Coaching Programs To Gain More Clients

by Kathleen LeGrys

 
Are you enrolling as many clients as you would like? Do you ever feel stuck about what to offer potential clients? If so, you’re not alone.

Packaging your programs and finding clients can be pretty confusing, right?

If you graduated from a health coach training or certification program like I did, there’s a good chance you were taught to offer potential clients a 6-month coaching program.

There’s nothing wrong with this model…unless it’s the only option you have for people.

Here’s the deal – many people are not ready to commit to a 6-month program.

This doesn’t mean they don’t need it, but in their mind that may be too long of a commitment for them right now, or it may feel like too much of a financial investment. If you only offer one program (your 6-month program) your prospect only has one choice – they either say yes or no, and that’s it. If it’s a ‘no,’ they walk away, and you both lose out.

But, what if there was a better way to approach this that made you feel more confident and empowered, and less salesy? That would be pretty sweet, right?

When you give people a choice of how they can work with you, you’ll get more people saying “yes” to your programs. Let’s take a look at a couple of options so you can start using this simple strategy TODAY to give your business a huge boost.

Offer Choices

Have at least two ways for people to work with you. (Three options are fine, but if you offer more than three choices, people get confused and may not pick any of them). One option can be a short-term program (30 days for example), and the other can be 3-4 months (which can then lead to another 3 months if you choose).

Because most of your audience won’t know you very well, it’s good to ease them in with a mini-commitment so they can get to know you and trust you. Once they have gone through your 30-day program, and they experience a couple of wins during that time, they’ll be ready to take the next step with you.

This 30-day program could be offered as a Jump Start program that can be run either online with a group, in person in a group, or one-on-one. I love the online group programs because you can reach a much wider audience (anywhere in the world). When you have a group of people start at the same time and they come together in a Facebook group to get your support, there’s a lot of synergy in the group. It makes it more fun than doing it alone.

It’s important to note that online programs can be run very simply with just a private Facebook group and automated emails (use an email marketing system like MailChimp, AWeber, GetResponse, etc.). You do not need any fancy bells and whistles at all when you first start out, so don’t let the tech stuff hold you back.

What’s Next?

After your 30-day program ends, you will have a group of people that are ready to continue to see progress. Awesome! This is where you can offer your next level program.

One way to transition people to the next step is to lead them into a 3-month coaching program. You can call it a 12-week program if you want (to some people, 12 weeks sounds shorter than 3 months). This is the program where clients are going to see the biggest results, and have more accountability and support from you. This can be your “signature program.”

After your 3-month program, you can either provide month-to-month coaching or offer a more advanced level program for three more months.

With this scenario, many people will end up coaching with you for six months. It will just be broken up into more bite-sized chunks, which is often more manageable for people.

If you already have the content for your coaching program all set, that’s wonderful. If you don’t have a comprehensive and polished coaching program in place, check out this one HERE.

Making It Easy for You and Your Prospects

When you feel confident about what you’re offering, people sense it and they are drawn to you like a giant magnet. When you have more than one way for people to work with you (online or in person) they get to make the choice that works best for them at this moment in time.

You can still offer your 6-month program, but I don’t recommend making it the only way people can work with you.

Naming Your Program

Spend some time brainstorming to come up with compelling, descriptive names for your programs. For example, a name like “Total Transformation Program” sounds much better than “6-Month Program.” Wouldn’t you agree? The title “6-Month Program” doesn’t tell your prospects anything really, except for the length of the program. The name should correlate with your program and resonate with your target market.

The same applies for any program you offer – give it a good name that piques the interest and curiosity of your potential clients. After you jot some ideas down, run them by a few people to get their feedback to see what they think.

Everybody Wins!

When you have options to offer, everybody wins. Decide what offerings you can put into place with a short-term program, then a longer-term program and see how much easier it is to enroll prospects and have happy clients that refer their friends to you.

 
Kathleen LeGrys is a Certified Health Coach, Fitness Nutrition Specialist and founder of Health Coach Solutions. She has helped thousands of health and fitness professionals around the world transform their business, get out of overwhelm and generate more revenue.

Her customizable programs are used by health coaches, fitness trainers, naturopathic doctors, and other wellness professionals to empower them to change lives on a global scale.

You can find Kathleen at www.healthcoachsolutions.net